The Wednesday Word 12.21.2022

 

Luke 1:26-38 NLT

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” 34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” 35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. 37 For the word of God will never fail.” 38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

I am sure they grew up fast in a poor town like Nazareth. We don’t know anything specific about Mary’s family, other than her relative was married to a priest. The previously childless Elizabeth was old enough to be her grandmother, but they were on close terms. They were close enough for Mary to turn to her in her time of need. Mary’s family had to have been devout or Mary wouldn’t have been prepared to love and obey God Almighty without hesitation or protest. She asked one simple question, a pretty important one, and accepted Gabriel’s message without expressing the fear she must have felt.

Mary is venerated by millions of people around the world. We concentrate more on Jesus’ Heavenly Parent in our denomination. We must concede that had Mary flat out refused or gone stark raving mad, God would certainly have found another mother. But, we know that God has all these things figured out long before we come along. Mary was God’s perfect choice. Mary’s response was perfect. I think we can safely say that God is not going to call on us for anything remotely as important as the part Mary was to play. What we cannot predict is the part any call on us might play. The Angel Gabriel may not be coming to call; but, if we are paying attention, the Holy Spirit will be nudging us about something that God thinks is important for us. How will you answer…something to pray about.

Don’t forget to look for the Lord today. Vicki H.

                                                                                                photo by M. Studinski

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